According to that article, 62% of Americans who disapprove of Trump overall now approve of Trump sitting down with North Korea's arguably abominable dictator. (The poll was conducted by CNN, so take it for what it's worth, though.)

Maybe Skippy or someone else can find other polls about how Americans *in general* are feeling about the meeting, but personally, I'd be more interested in knowing how people around these parts feel about it.

What do you think about an American President speaking face-to-face with a man who apparently likes to use anti-aircraft weapons to dispatch with people close to him?

My thoughts: I think it's a great idea. I'm in that 62% of people in the CNN poll. As you might have concluded from "that other thread," I'm a huge fan of having a dialogue with all, and everyone listening to each other. I don't see what harm can come of it (except the obvious "setting the precedent"). As far as I know, we aren't giving him anything to sit down and talk? (This may very well be going on behind-the-scenes, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is (his people are hungry), but I doubt we’ll ever find out about it.) And who knows what change might possibly come of the meeting? I don’t think anything will ever happen if we keep NOT talking to each other. And the poor North Korean people....

IMHO Kim Jong-un is likely best described as a highly intelligent psychopath, but I *still* think Trump should sit down with him. You?

My concern is that if someone from NK is smart enough to put a "Fox and Friends" banner behind Kim Jong Un, the Great Pumpkin will automatically believe everything that comes out of his mouth, no matter how ridiculous... (-;

Who told you to ignore and why would you ever listen? Are you brainwashed or just trying to make me feel special? I am so special. ;-)

It depends

On whether you believe Trump’s line in the sand matters because he will fail and you will be unhappy. He will not rid the pennisula of nukes.

Or if a splendid happy meeting is enough, you will be happy to have a pleasant time with a brutal murderer.

Or if he ends up in the middle which will make you wonder why he killed the better deal in Iran than he gets in NK in which case you will lie to yourself about expectations and outcomes and conclude he is just the same as every other President.

We got three guys back, albeit two lost on Trump’s watch that didn’t matter until they were freed, but that’s a nice win and a nice start.

I expect its downhill from there, a great start nonetheless, and always better to talk than to scream.

How can we state this is any way bad - the MSM accuses Trump of starting WW III a few months ago with his tweets - apparently it worked and the hostages are home and Kim is at the table. Trump did more with a tweet than Obama’s did in 8 years

IDK JR. I can't figure out why he's suddenly making nice with everyone. Is he playing us all (S Korea, China, N Korea)? Or is this CHINA playing us via him? And what is his/the actual agenda? What is he trying to get, besides obviously sanctions lifted? And are we sure he isn't acting as China's new favorite puppet?

He's just so unpredictable. I wouldn't rule out a nuclear response from him aimed due southward if he doesn't get what he wants. The thought just never occurred to me before jd2 mentioned it.

Trump will wind up with less than Iran deal in terms of remaoning warheads and no monitorong or checking whatsoever. And then he will try to spin the stupidity out of it but this time I rxpect Pbama will break silence abd tell Trump off

Kim, here’s the deal: you can have your nuke program. We’ll give you a seat at the big boy table, which means you can start making more money. We’ll deal you in ok? BUT:

Let me explain to you what we have, it’s this thing called “mutually assured destruction”. Russia and America have been playing it a long time. We’re allowed to keep our nukes, and life goes merrily on... provides no one USES them. That’s the point. If Russia used them, both countries will become radioactive parking lots for a very long time. If America used them, the same. If YOU use them, I promise you we will kill you and your entire family while turning your country into a smoldering dung heap. And we won’t even NEED nukes to do it. “

Kim is not stupid enough to use a nuke. Nobody is. That’s why it hasn’t happened since WWII. Wait... there is one group STUPID enough to use a nuke of some kind: ISIS (or whatever flavor they are going by at the time). They already live in a parking lot desert. And they are still in the stone ages. They got nothing to lose. But that’s not North Korea.

“Oh and Kim, if we catch you SELLING nuke tech to anybody, we will air strike the shit out of you and your plants. Once again, smoldering dung heap. You wanna seat at the table, you got one- but you play by the rules or you will be terminated. Play by the rules. Enjoy your seat. It’s essier for everybody.”

Rebecka, Trump sitting down with Kim Jong-un is a good thing. It has the potential to advance the process to bring an end to the longest running conflict in American history. If the President can negotiate an end to this 68 year old conflict he is a shoe in for the Nobel peace prize It would be a significant accomplishment and help bring stability to the region. This president is a hard worker who has accomplished a lot in his time in the white house.

How can there be an Iran deal when Iran NEVER signed an Iran deal. I wish this was on the other thread so I wouldn't get bumped. Never a deal!! Obama had a pen and a phone and he used it. He DID not have congress or not one vote to make an Iran DEAL. He used a pen, put it on paper and made his deal. Means nothing, notta. Goodbye Iran Obama deal. The only thing he did was to do is bow for the photo op.

Kim is a narcissist. He saw the attention his sister got at the Olympics. He wants that and more. So he will behave. That's a positive. For him, but especially, perhaps, for starving, oppressed North Koreans.

I absolutely feel President Trump is doing the right thing by meeting with Kim Jong-un. I would be saying the same thing regardless of who won the election, whether Democrat, Third Party, or Independent. However I honestly think President Trump has the greatest chance of coming away with positive
results because of his unpredictable reputation. His reputation seems to indicate he is sly like a fox and maybe that is what we need right now at this time in History. I don't like things he has said in the past and wish he would publically apologize for each and every
unkind, name calling slur he imposed on others.... But I'm not holding my breath...

Just a quick response on the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. It's true that when you look at it purely in an internal to U.S. political process point-of-view, you could argue that since the Senate did not ratify, it was not a full-fledged U.S. deal. But looking at it from the perspective of the rest of the world, it certainly was. Here is a comment from Germany's chancellor:

"I believe it is not right that a deal which was agreed, which was voted upon in the UN Security Council and unanimously approved, should be unilaterally terminated," Merkel said, adding that the US decision "damages trust in the international order."

It seems to me also to be very unfair to re-institute the sanctions we had put on because of Iran's nuclear program, when Iran has meanwhile given up the program because of the deal. If Iran restarts the program, then at least that would make sense, even though the withdrawal itself still looks bad to most of the rest of the world.

Trump is a transparent self-centered abomination upon all we hold to be a proper and progressive leader of any country.....we have seen this from the beginning and yet he is president.....shame on those of us who support him.....for any reason......shame on humanity's folly....he has lowered the bar of ethics, humanity, and politics to the ground.....we need to exorcise him from public and political life....

Ok sure we’re listening - those are serious charges - please expound on what imperical evidence you may have that an 18 month multi million dollar investigation has not turned up - or is he an abomination because you don’t agree with making America great ? Did Trump make HRC call folks deplorable and “clingers”? Did he make her fail to campaign in “fly over” states ? Please give me the data points so I can understand any of what you are talking about - I really want to build a bridge here but your statements are without basis.

Seriously, it's a good thing..just like the other thread, an open discussion is warranted.

All people even leaders (yes, they are people too), should have face to face open discussions more often. It's very different when the middle man is involved, it's not as personal and things can get misconstrued. It's just not the same.

Trump and Jong-Un need to get to know each other, both have heard much negativity about one another, they both need to clear the air.

I would think, just like many of us, if we met in person we'd put our best face forward and would be very gracious and would try to clear up any past differences.

I think it’s a great idea. Sure beats war or threat of!! Long overdue and even though I’m not a big fan of Trump at this point I give him credit on this one... Hopefully a deal can be worked out on our terms and all these threats and stupidity can be put behind us!!! Next thing u know they will be golfing buddies!!

"The United States has LONG hada policy of no negotiation with terrorists for hostages. Yeah Trump did just that recently With that terrorist in North Korea. Making him as bad as Obama."

Except.... our 3 hostages are now back home, and there MIGHT actually be peace in Korea for the first time since 1945.

I don't see a losing option here, as I have said- Kim is not stupid enough to use nukes, and besides this whole "IDK man, he's so unpredictable" thing.... that's an image he's created to instill fear. SO the rest of the world would take him seriously enough to talk to him instead of ignore and sanction him. He just wants a seat in the game. He's not that stupid.

He doesn't want to be the pariah that Iran still is, he wants to be China. He wants to be one of the popular kids.

It seems to me that NK got what they wanted...they wanted a nuke in their shed. Now that they have it (so it seems, what else would be the reason from the sudden change of heart and suspension of tests), they are willing to be more civil, because as JR stated...in this day in age, anyone using a nuke would literally end the world. I do not personally think it would just be a counter attack, I personally think it would spark WW3...and there is no living through that....for anyone.

Yet thank you. I was a bit blue this morning but HL brought the smile back to these cheeks. Thank you.

First, of course talking is preferable to bombing. However, since Trump himself has set the goal of no nukes on the Peninsula, he will come up short but tell us “it’s still better than Hillary…” or some other favorite sound bite punching bag just like Skippy can’t help but blame Hillary again in this thread….(thanks, Skip, seeing your compulsion to continually vex over Hillary’s past is really getting funny. At least I pick the live ones……).

So, what happens when Trump doesn’t get what he says he wants? The best template for the best deal he could get he just tore up.

What he will end up with is a deal worse than the one he cancelled in Iran.
- There will be nuclear arms, Iran has none except the one Israel sees
- There will be no inspections
- He may get a reduction or a limit on arms
- The missile program will continue
Trump has said there will be no Iran style deal in North Korea. Methinks his only other choice is the unilateral capitulation of North Korea and you have to ask: how much does that cost? Doesn’t matter, won’t happen.

But I digress. My smile and coffee-to-keyboard spew came when I read this (and please realize I do understand and appreciate the overall thoughts and intent):
“Trump and Jong-Un need to get to know each other, both have heard much negativity about one another, they both need to clear the air.”

Just how does one clear the air with a guy where defectors talk of: “a newborn being fed to guard dogs, executions of starving prisoners for scrounging for edible plants in the dirt, the torture of Christians and more.” Maybe lead with “have you heard the one about fake news….” Or tell Kim, "you know, defectors are just snowflakes, you want yours back? Can I ship Jeff Flake in with them?"

Jong-Un is allegedly charged with 10 of the 11 possible crimes against humanity. Do I need to go to gory details? He killed one of our kids recently. Do I need to remind HL of that?

Just how do you clear that air?

Talk is good. But questions will arise as Trump comes back with a deal worse than Iran having pissed off friend and foe alike. And twhat will he do when the Trump “it’s-better-than-Hillary” spin becomes a weak tea.

Sorry, but the united States and many other nations frown upon paying ransom for terrorists or negotiating with hostile nations for a reason. It ENCOURAGES more hostage taking, thereby endangering all citizens.

As for the cancer statement, pretty silly, for two reasons:

1) Trump could never cure cancer, as it would take hard work and intelligence;
2) He would never bother curing cancer unless he could profit handsomely from it;
and
3) The same could have been said during any other administration - Obama's, for example. If Obama had cured cancer, the republicans would say he's flouting God and working for Satan/Allah. They would have turned it into an evil act of satanism and terrorism.

Just seems a bit odd that Kim is all happy happy and willing to sit down with USA---remember those old WWII black & white movies when Koreans held Americans as prisoners? They all smiled to their faces as they gunned them down....I just don't feel comfortable with this 'new found' friendship between Trump & Jon-un..

Think there will be a 'gotcha' moment somewhere along the way--IF this meeting actually happens. I have been skeptical all along as to an actual meeting.

Now Kim is having a celebration on May 23rd as NK disbands their nuclear weapons--making a spectacle and a "yooge" point to let the world know that he no longer has these weapons---sure, Kim, but what about the ones you have hidden in an underground bunker??

Complete BS. NK has already done enough tests for a while so now they will try to get some concessions and probably sign a peace treaty to get American troops of of the Peninsula; good for NK and China. Trump will be praised for this, but nothing to do with him.

In case you missed it in my original post, I am not a fan of Trump himself. In fact, if this were a discussion about the man himself, I would most definitely have some choice words that would NOT be fit to print. I would be most happy to write paragraphs and paragraphs about my innermost feelings about our own charming Dear Leader.

But the discussion is NOT about the man himself. At all. It's about his meeting, as sitting POTUS, with a violent, repressive dictator. THAT is the question, and I would be asking it no matter WHO the head honcho sitting in the oval office was right now, even Hillary Clinton. Or Elizabeth Warren.

It's not about Trump, it's about the question of whether ANY sitting US president should meet with such a dictator.

And I'm now conflicted in my thoughts about the meeting, based on some pretty great arguments from both sides in this thread.

that meeting may happen, but will not be of much consequence....how can it?....it needs parties with long-time vested interests to make things work, not ignorance or self-interest....there may be rays of hope here, from engagement....from engagement....maybe Kim at least has thought things through, maybe he is playing an old game.....but not playng our cards does not win any progress.....

Re: self-interest suspicions: DH says that Trump probably just sees North Korea as nice place to build a new golf course for Kim Jong-un and his buddies! He says that's likely why the man is flying all the way to Singapore to meet with him lol.

I personally think that he just wants to go down in the history books as the president who de-nuclearized North Korea. It would indeed be a major accomplishment. I think he *only* wants to accomplish this to reinforce that his own grandiose thoughts about himself are correct, and to put a big ol' feather in his cap.

BUT, if it indeed works, won't that be something? Personally, I'd be happy with even just a smidge of relief for the North Korean people as an outcome.

I'm glad that he as POTUS is opening a dialogue, and would be happy if ANY other sitting president were doing the same thing.

In any case, this will definitely be a fascinating meeting for the entire world to analyze. I hope it will also be an important one.

If Kim Jong-un gives up his nuclear weapons without some sort of major concessions he would be foolish.
Reading what is in the news (who knows what to believe) the testing site was damaged by the tests themselves. There were reports from satellites that the mountain has shifted somewhat. He may have to close the sites down anyway-so why not look good doing it?

His missiles work, not 100% but they are reasonably successful. His nukes do work, this has been demonstrated. He has the ability to export the technology now. Anything could happen, but it would not be logical to expend all of that effort just to hand it over to the Americans and just quit now.

if you are ok with Iran having nukes but a post or two later call every defensive gun use in America murder you may be a bit 'special' indeed.

Hossein Jaberi Ansari warned Western officials this week that if they do not put pressure on the Trump administration the Iranian regime will leak the names of all Western officials who were bribed to pass the Iran Deal

It's not like Obama put $400M Cash on a Pallet in the middle of the night.

My prediction is that we will eventually find out that Iran got uranium from Russia who in turn got it through the U1 Uranium that left the US via Canada hence why Kerry is still involved. This is going to point back to everyone's favorite SECSTATE and election results denier and her former employer.. Oh I know they're old news - don't look in that direction.

In 2015, Republican Senators warned the Iran that any deal made with Obama without Congress was simply that. An executive agreement made with Obama that could be abandoned or changed at will in the future by the next President - why didn't Obama just bring the deal before congress?

I agree, Dodgebaal. I can't envision a scenario where he would ever give up the nukes he has. Maybe some lower-level people who have been speaking to his people have been told otherwise, though? I imagine they must have been at least given the impression that he is willing to negotiate, otherwise why would any POTUS be sitting down with him at all?

Darrin is right; they have the bomb, the site is damaged, why not throw Trump a bone and dismantle it. NK can either open it back up or, more likely, build a new one. They would have had to do that anyway given the already sorry statis of this site —-purportedly. So they get good will for doing what they had to do anyways.

Maybe one should ask how NK has accelerated its program these past few years, especially in long range missile development.

What's weird about all of this is no one is really talking how NK has been surviving and how did they accelerate their bomb, and more important, their long range missile capabilities.

One word: Russia

Not sure what that means....but Russians have been shipping coal as well as scientists to NK.

Trump condemned Russian for NK sanctions violations at the beginning of this year but has said little since then.

So if Russia is helping NK stick a finger in our eye, and Trump's actions have shown he wants to be buddies with Russia, and now Trump will meet with NK, Russia's proven buddy -----crap, I'm at a loss. What is Putin up to?

Maybe I shouldn't have said ally...and instead said make a enemy out of Russia....as of now it is apparent that Russia does not particularly care for us...but they haven't crossed the line of taking action on it.

Obviously we have a military presence in S Korea, Skippy. Dodgebaal states we have a *nuclear* presence there. I'd like a source of credible info confirming the US has nuclear missles on the Korean Peninsula.

I just knew this so called meeting would never take place and I said it weeks and weeks ago---these two men will never meet......just a lot of baloney. Smoke screen of Kim Jung Un --so we let our guard down----yeah he will dismantle his ONE nuke that is not working anyway but he has others ready to go....